People with osteoarthritis may one day have a new way to slow the disease and reduce the need for joint replacement surgery.
A new study suggests that colchicine, a medicine that has been used for many years to treat gout, could help lower the chance of needing knee or hip replacement surgery.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It develops when the smooth cartilage that covers the ends of bones gradually wears away.
Without this protective layer, bones rub against each other, causing pain, stiffness, swelling, and trouble moving the joint.
The condition becomes more common with age, but it can also be linked to previous joint injuries, excess body weight, and repeated stress on the joints. The knees and hips are among the joints most often affected because they support much of the body’s weight every day.
For many years, scientists believed that osteoarthritis was mainly caused by wear and tear. More recent research has shown that low levels of ongoing inflammation also play an important role in damaging the joints. This has encouraged researchers to test medicines that reduce inflammation.
Colchicine is already widely used to treat gout, a painful type of arthritis caused by a buildup of uric acid crystals in the joints. The medicine helps reduce inflammation and has been safely used by many patients for long periods. Researchers wanted to find out whether it could also help people with osteoarthritis.
In the new study, researchers in the Netherlands followed more than 5,500 adults between the ages of 35 and 82 from 43 medical centers in Australia and the Netherlands. Half of the participants took a low daily dose of colchicine, while the other half received a placebo that contained no active medicine. The study continued for about 29 months.
During the study, 2.5% of people taking colchicine needed knee or hip replacement surgery, compared with 3.5% of those taking the placebo. Although the difference was modest, it suggests that colchicine may help slow the progression of osteoarthritis in some patients.
The researchers also found that the possible benefit appeared to be stronger in men. However, more studies are needed to understand whether women receive the same level of protection and to identify which patients are most likely to benefit from the treatment.
The findings add more evidence that controlling inflammation could become an important part of treating osteoarthritis. Because colchicine is already an approved medicine with a long history of use, it may offer a faster path to helping patients if future research confirms its benefits.
People with osteoarthritis should not start taking colchicine without medical advice because the medicine can cause side effects and is not suitable for everyone.
Doctors still recommend regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a balanced diet, and following prescribed treatments to help reduce pain and protect the joints.
The study was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
If you care about health, please read studies that plant-based diets can harm your bone health without these nutrients, and how to ease arthritis with anti-inflammatory foods.
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